Thank You, Jouchan
by Zanza-Chan
Summary: (One Shot)The anniversary of Captain Sagara's death rolls around, and Sanosuke is a little depressed. One night, he sneaks off by himself. Will a good friend be able to snap him out of it? No pairing intended. Don't flame me for the pairing. REVIEW!


Alright, alright! I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or any of it's characters. Are you happy? You've crushed my dream... ;;

The sakura blossoms blew tranquilly across the path as Kenshin picked up the laundry and began to escort the clean clothes inside; it was getting dark. Megumi walked onto the porch behind him; carrying a basket of herbs she cut from the garden.

"Konnichiwa Ken-san!"

Kenshin smiled brightly.

"Megumi-dono."

"Have you seen tori-atama anywhere? I haven't seen him lounging around today."

Kenshin shook his head.

"Well, I saw Sanosuke headed for the forest this morning. He didn't say where he was going though."

Dinner was ready, and to the group's dismay, Kaoru had cooked. Megumi had stayed over for the meal, and unlike Sano, swallowed her comments about the horrendous mess in her bowl. Suddenly, Yahiko's voice broke the comfortable silence.

"That stupid rooster-head is missing dinner. Heh! Well, I don't blame him actually."

A bokken quickly crashed into Yahiko's skull.

Settling back into her meal, Kaoru began thinking about the strange feelings she'd been having that day. It was a nervous, unsettled feeling; like something was wrong and she should do something about it. Whatever it was, it had something to do with Sanosuke.

It was getting late, and Kaoru couldn't sleep. The dim-witted gangster wasn't home yet. If Sano had been out drinking, he would have passed out in the dojo by now. Okay…she was worried about him. What's so wrong with being concerned for a friend? She sighed and rose from the futon. Maybe a little fresh air would help. Kaoru crept down the hall, and slid the shoji open; she stepped out onto the porch. Her gaze was caught by the moon, glittering above her.

_How beautiful…_

Kaoru stared at the moon for what seemed like an eternity. Although after awhile, it became apparent she should give up on letting the feelings go away. She strapped her sandals on, and walked slowly to the edge of the woods, swallowing thickly. Kaoru decided that if she couldn't find him, she'd just go home; he was probably just out partying with his gangster buddies anyway. Somewhere deep inside, a hunch told her otherwise. She at least wanted to know where he was.

Kaoru had walked for awhile when she stopped, exhausted. Just as she turned to go back, she thought heard something. Another hundred yards or so, and Kaoru came to a small clearing. The moon illuminated the area as if it was broad daylight. Sano was sitting on his heels in the middle of the clearing, looking up, and talking softly to something, or someone. Kaoru's instincts told her to just stand by and watch. Sano closed his eyes for a moment, and gnawed hard on the fishbone in his mouth.

He lowered himself to sitting on his knees, still looking skyward. Kaoru was confused, but taken aback by the unsettling seriousness of the scene; she watched curiously, as he lowered his head. Kaoru clearly saw what he had been focusing on. A gravestone. The dark object stuck out of the ground, casting an eerie shadow on Sano's face.

In the year and a half Kaoru had known him; Sanosuke had never looked the way he did just then. His eyes were sad, and distant; reflecting an emotion Kaoru was sure few had ever seen. Suddenly, he slammed a punch into the ground, causing the trees around him to shake slightly.

"Captain, why did you have to go and leave me alone like this?"

His heartbroken words struck a chord in Kaoru, and she yearned to go to him…but her feet wouldn't move. With a defeated sight, Sano rose to his feet and stared heavenward one last time. A light breeze picked up, and his hair blew back from his face, as he looked her way. Kaoru hid behind a tree to avoid being spotted.

"Oi, Jou-chan… you can come out now."

Kaoru poked her head around the trunk of her tree.

"How long have you known I was there?"

"Long enough."

"Are you alright? I…uh…was a little worried. Where have you been all day?"

Kaoru grimaced at the pain ridden in his dark auburn eyes.

"You wouldn't understand, Jou-chan."

"Wouldn't I?"

Kaoru folded her arms and scowled at him. She could be just as stubborn when she felt like it.

"Sanosuke, I'm concerned about you, and I think you should come home!"

He looked away, eyes hidden by his hair.

"It's that time again."

"What?"

"The anniversary of when Captain Sagara died."

The Kenshin-gumi had heard the story of Captain Sagara. He was the only "father" Sano had. His original parents disappeared, and the Sekihotai captain had raised and trained him until he was murdered by the Imperialists with his men. Souzuo Sagara had given his own life to save him, and later on, Sano honored his leader and role model by taking his last name. Although every other day, Sano conveyed the tough gangster image, inside; he had emotions just like everyone else; and they could hurt.

"You can go on back, Jou-chan. I'll be there in a bit."

"No, Sano. I'm staying."

Getting a little irked, Sano clenched and unclenched his bandaged hand while Kaoru slowly approached him. She looked at the gravestone, and then at Sano, who had his back turned to her.

_Stubborn little Tanuki-girl._

"I'm really sorry."

Sano closed his eyes again.

"So am I."

She saw him wipe his eyes with the sleeve of his Sekihotai jacket.

"Sano you did what you could to save him."

He sighed deeply.

"Che, Jou-chan! I could have stopped them! Captain could still be alive, but he saved me instead! Why couldn't he have been selfish just that one time!"

The tone in his cracking voice exposed the tears, which began sliding down his face.

Kaoru felt helpless and a little hurt; but nevertheless, she forced him to turn around and look at her.

"Please quit running."

Sano bit the fishbone in half; desperately trying to push the remaining tears back; for his pride's sake.

"I can't, Jou-chan! Don't you get it!"

Kaoru tightened her hold on him, and brushed his face with the back of her hand.

"No one can change what happened, Sano. If Captain Sagara didn't die, you wouldn't be here today."

"Who would care?"

Kaoru stepped back, a horrified look on her face. Her pity was slowly seeping into anger.

"Sano, how can you say things like that?"

No response.

"Kenshin would care. That stupid Rurouni would be a wreck without you."

"He'd survive. He's got you after all."

"What about Yahiko?"

"The little brat hates me anyway."

Kaoru was getting frustrated. A depressed Sano wasn't a pretty thing.

"You think so? He refuses to admit it, but you're like his big brother. Yahiko needs you."

Sano turned around, eyes narrowed.

"And what about you, Jou-chan?"

The tone was softer than she'd expected.

"I…I don't know what I would do without you. Sano, you mean a lot more to me than you think."

The cold auburn melted.

"You mean that?"

Head down, Kaoru nodded; her eyes glassy.

Sano had always known they cared. He just needed to be reminded once in awhile. The next thing she knew, she was being hugged tightly, Sano's face buried in her shoulder. Drawing a sharp breath, she pushed bangs away from the wet brown eyes, smiling gently. He wiped his face with his sleeve again, and sighed.

"You're alright, ne?"

"Yeah."

Sano turned and began to walk towards the dojo; a small smile beginning to show.

"Thank you, Jou-chan."

"Anytime, Sano. Anytime…"

A/N: Well, we have a little Sano/Kaoru fluffiness here. No, there is no pairing intended, but it did come out that way. This is Kaoru's way of letting our little Tori-chan know she cares. I thought it was sweet. No flaming from you KK fanatics. Let us authors have our fun, ne?


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